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Here’s Why Your Company Should Offer “Mental Health Days”

Posted November 10th, 2017

Most companies offer a range of paid days off to their employees. Typically, this includes vacation and sick leave, and possibly options like maternity or paternity leave, and bereavement or compassionate leave. However, even though most organizations know that mental health is important for a person’s overall wellbeing, not all businesses give workers access to mental health days, often to their detriment. Here’s what you need to know.

Why Mental Health Days Should be Standard Practice

As mentioned above, most people recognize that mental health is just as critical as physical health. If employees don’t take charge of the mental state, regardless of whether they have a diagnosed condition, their performance can suffer just as much (if not more so) as when they deal with physical ailments.

Often, workers who feel they need time off to manage a mental health issue have to resort to using traditional sick leave, and doing so can come with a variety of caveats or even a stigma if they aren’t obviously ill or have a recognizable injury.

By offering mental health days, the company shows that they fully support their employees and are willing to give workers the time they need to deal with conditions like depression and anxiety or to simply reduce their stress levels.

Further, many people struggle with maintaining an optimal level of mental health. Some estimates show that only 17 percent of the US population is in an ideal state, and approximately 1 in 5 people are experiencing symptoms of a diagnosable mental health condition at any point in time.

Failing to Support Mental Health Costs You Money

Some employers would argue that offering mental health days negatively affects their bottom line. But failing to provide enough paid time off to manage these conditions costs your business money too.

Employees who feel that they can’t take time off for mental health concerns may be less productive on the job, and those that do may have to deal with the stigma associated with their choice, which can harm their mental health even further. Additionally, unmanaged mental health conditions can actually lead to increased healthcare costs should an acute episode require extreme intervention, like in-patient care, or lead to other physical conditions.

By investing in the mental health of your staff, you can help increase productivity, reduce absenteeism, and keep healthcare costs under control. It also limits the negative connotations associated with seeking treatment, which can encourage those who need help from a medical professional to get the care they need to recover or manage their condition. In the end, this not only benefits your business but the lives of your workers as well.

If you would like to learn more or are interested in hiring a new employee, the professionals at TempStaff can help. Contact us to see how our services can make it easier for your business to succeed.